Five Social Media Mistakes to Avoid in Your Affiliate Marketing Business

In several previous posts, I have suggested using Twitter and Facebook as part of driving traffic to your Affiliate Marketing business.
Now that you have started marketing with Twitter and Facebook, it is worth reviewing your efforts to determine if you are doing it well.

Here are 5 social media mistakes to be sure and avoid.

1. Talking one-way. Many business owners start posting status updates because they think that is all they need to do to grow their company online. The way they do it cuts off any chance of having a two-way conversation. In today's messaging marketplace, consumers want to be heard. If you are just talking to customers but not letting them talk back and engage with you, then you are wasting considerable time and effort online.

2. Not Knowing When to Ask for Business. Many online businesses have conducted conversations with their connections for quite some time now without translating this dialogue into any sales. Some companies fail to ask for business online or they ask too soon. You need to build rapport first; people will buy from you only as much as they trust you. Set up a rule to convert conversation into clients or customers.

3. Shiny Object Syndrome. With all the flashy new Websites and social networking capabilities changing by the minute, no wonder you are swept up in checking out a new site or a fresh feature when you go online. Instead of spending countless hours exploring new dazzlers, devote only a set amount of time each day, or week, to review the new happenings online. Otherwise you will be sucked into a vortex of shiny objects and before you know it your week is over and you have not converted any online relationships into profits. Flag interesting sites, or novel capabilities, in a folder or on your calendar to revisit later for research and development.

4. Poor Messaging. A consumer can become overwhelmed by dealing with all the wrong messages that are crowding the Internet lately. Company owners are projecting the wrong image through what they say online. In some causes, their posts have absolutely nothing to do with their company, brand, or personality.

5. Sales Faux Pas. Writing how much your product or services cost, in a status update or post, is not only a time waste, it is plain wrong. Would you walk up to someone before you have even introduced yourself and say that your latest product is now available at a certain price for a limited time? If so, you would probably end up not only talking to yourself (since the person would walk away) but also you likely would lose the entire room of people as customers, just from their prematurely overhearing your sales introduction.

In closing, it does not matter whether you have a one-person business, or 150 employees, you need to take time every month or quarter and examine your social media practices.

You could save thousands of dollars, and hours, and have more to show for it.